You might be trying to figure out your purpose or next steps in your career and maybe you aren't really sure where to start. What you might be thinking you want to do, might not even be something that you've ever seen before and you are wondering if your idea is possible.
I have written this article for anyone struggling with finding their purpose. You might have a sketch of your idea but have no real plan on how to make your vision take flight. Here is my story.
Sixteen years ago, I became a mother to my first child. Before becoming a mom I had no idea of what to expect or how much being a mother would influence my work, career and life. Sure I had ideals about what I wanted my life to look like but still I had no idea of how to "have it all" or create a life including all of what I wanted. Heck, I was struggling with defining what "all was" to begin with like so many people.
My professional background is in training and development. I love to teach and inspire! I remember wanting to figure out a way to combine the three things that I loved most and that made me feel alive (teaching, training and being a mom) when I was pregnant with my second child.
I realized that there really were no examples of a "mom strategist" for me to follow, but this is what screamed to me inside my soul whenever I was among other women who were mothers. I would experience every day that people would ask me for advice or strategy about how to make motherhood work. I learned that my gift was that I teach "The How To in Motherhood". Sure we all want balance but at the end of the day it isn't wanting balance or hearing someone talk about it that changes your life -- it is a strategy that can be applied that produces a successful outcome that moms really want. My gift was that I understood how to teach mothers successful strategies that consistently changed their lives for the better.
I remember saying to my husband one night at bedtime that I wanted to go to work as myself and he replied, "I hope someone pays you to do that." We laughed but the truth is that I felt very alone about my lofty goal. There wasn't anyone to share my vision with about mom coaching.
This is what I recommend to find your purpose:
1. Ask yourself, what do I you love? What do I enjoy? Sometimes we make identifying our purpose a science experiment, when it isn't. Recall what brings you joy in your life or in your work in some past experience. Start there.
2. Don't ask others to validate your dream because they can't. If it inspires you, commit to find a way to make it happen. I meet so many people who want to get a permission slip from others before they move forward for what is best for them. See a need and fill the void.
3. Start small with your ideas and have fun with it. I had no idea that combining my love of training and motherhood would result in personally coaching hundreds of women in both their life and business. I started working with one client at a time and perfected my craft.
4. Get a mentor. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. I hired a business coach who wasn't a mother however she ran a very successful six figure coaching business and showed me how to do the same. She owned her time and taught me how to build a business that allowed me to have both lifestyle and freedom.
5. Give yourself credit, you know more than you think. Sometimes we choose paralysis or inaction because we are afraid of making a mistake. The only way to learn is to try. Trust yourself and listen to that small voice called inspiration. Let it guide you.
6. Fine tune as you go. You will eventually learn from what works and be able to create systems from it. Perfection prevents us from being vulnerable and taking risks. If you find yourself always seeking the perfect moment or need others to stroke you before you can move forward. Stop it. You are enough.
7. Get started. I run a wonderful coaching program for moms called Core Moms Accountability. The moms in this program have gone from having a basic idea just like me to monetizing their dreams in just a few weeks. Just recently we had three participants write and publish their books within two months, two got corporate partnerships and one got a television contract within three weeks. They had success because they made time for their goals every day and took the right actions to support their results.
8. Surround yourself with a community of doers. I run a free goal setting group on Facebook called Mom Strategy -- Actions, Systems and Results to inspire women to take consistent actions each day. I'm inspired each day by the women who find that just being consistent with other goal oriented women they can accomplish so much.
9. Be patient with yourself. I kept my vision in front of me but I was never deflated by my mistakes and failures. I saw my mistakes as opportunities to readjust my direction.
10. Success will find you when you do what you love. While I'm still waiting for my call from Oprah for my own show, I have built an amazing business doing what I love and you will also. I've found that living out my calling has positioned me and my life with countless opportunities that support my vision.
I now have three children and have been a full-time life and business coach for the last eight years. My work has allowed me to support hundreds of women with designing a business of their dreams. 49 of my clients have written books, several garnering corporate partnerships, national media, bestselling books, restored marriages and improved life systems. I have had the privilege to coach families live on The New Ricki Lake show, and join the cast of the Emmy nominated show America Now for their 4th season in addition to writing several Amazon #1 bestselling books and leading a coaching movement for moms nationwide through Time for Mom-me groups in partnership with national brands like Corner Bakery Café and Panera Bread Company.
This all started from an idea to combine what I love to do into a business. I want you to understand this and be inspired to shoot for your goal from my story. No matter where you are right now, I want you to know that you can start. It is so easy to look at the success of others and not know how to begin with your big idea. I hope my story has encouraged you to begin and know that you can have amazing success. You can do this! Let me know if I can support you?